Can I move to Australia after PGCE or is NQT year required?

Are you an Australian citizen? If not: From my understanding, getting a skilled visa as a teacher requires a certain amount of experience (3 years I think?). You could get sponsored for a visa (by a school), or look at state sponsorship, but with little experience, it's unlikely.

I'd recommend completing your NQT year in the UK, mainly because if you ever return, you'll be a qualified teacher. You'll also have experience which will assist with visa/job searching in Australia.

From what I've heard, there isn't a huge demand in Australia for teachers like there was years ago. To get a permanent job (depending on your subject/age group), you may need to work in a remote area.

Best of luck.

Thank you very much for the in depth answer. I'm just considering all options at the moment. I'll be teaching ICT/Computer Science so finding something shouldn't be too hard. I've been offered a job there in a private school based solely on my BSc but don't want to not do the PGCE as I want to be qualified. If it doesn't work out I'm back to square one returning to the UK pretty much in limbo as my parents live abroad.

Probably best as you said to get the NQT year done and then reassess my options.

Thanks

I'm starting a Computing PGCE in September, and would love to emigrate at some point. There's certainly a demand for Computing/ICT teachers in the UK, so once you've completed your PGCE, you shouldn't find it too difficult to secure an NQT job in a decent school within the UK.

I've no idea what the demand for Computing/ICT teachers is in Australia. I did look at Canada, but the general consensus was teaching is not the best profession to be in to emigrate there.

Australia does sound appealing though.